


The Sea Captain's House - Part 14: Christmas One-Shot 2039

by Beautyinthemoonlight



Series: The Sea Captain's House [14]
Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:46:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21927664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beautyinthemoonlight/pseuds/Beautyinthemoonlight
Summary: It's December 23, 2039 and Ali and Ashlyn find themselves unexpectedly on their own for one of their family Christmas traditions.
Relationships: Ashlyn Harris/Ali Krieger
Series: The Sea Captain's House [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/573217
Comments: 16
Kudos: 43





	The Sea Captain's House - Part 14: Christmas One-Shot 2039

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all!  
> Please enjoy this slightly angsty but ultimately sweet Christmas One-Shot.  
> We're jumping ahead 6 years for this One-Shot.  
> I'm working on Part 15 which will be another Week in the Life installment where we spend one full day with each family member. It will pick up right where Part 13 ended (January 2034).  
> Enjoy!!  
> P.S. How excited are we for Ali & Ashlyn's wedding this weekend??!! <3

The weak, afternoon sun did its best to warm up the chilly, late-December day, but it wasn’t working very well. The only thing that kept Ali and Ashlyn from freezing was the pumping of their legs as they skated around the frozen Frog Pond in festively decorated Boston Common. Every stroke of their skates and flex of their quads sent warm blood through their hearts and out to the rest of their extremities as they completed another casual lap. There were 15-20 other holiday-minded revelers out there with them, all total strangers. None of the Krieger children had joined Ali and Ashlyn for the annual tradition that didn’t seem that important to anybody but the two moms anymore. Even Deb, a normally sprightly 79-year old who looked forward to at least watching the holiday skating with her family, hadn’t made it this year. She was at the big old house recuperating in an effort to get and stay strong enough to enjoy all of her grandchildren while they were home for Christmas.

“Had enough, Florida girl?” Ali challenged with a lighthearted grin, squeezing her wife’s gloved hand that was firmly grasping her own as they skated together.

“Not even close” Ashlyn called back with a smirk. She was colder than hell but she wasn’t about to admit it. “When are we gonna race?”

Ashlyn was glad to see the smile on her beautiful brunette’s face, even if it wasn’t the truest kind that came from deep inside Ali’s heart. The keeper couldn’t blame her. It had hurt them both when they realized their family outing was going to be just the two of them that afternoon. What a difference 5 years had made. It wasn’t too long ago when the busy moms would have rejoiced to share some rare, alone time together without their children. But as the kids got older, both Ashlyn and Ali were finding themselves more desperate for family time than ever before. 

It was Friday, December 23rd, 2039 and none of the extended Krieger clan had made it home to Boston yet. Kyle and his family weren’t driving up from NYC until tomorrow morning because Edgar wasn’t getting home from Syracuse until tonight. An early season snowstorm had delayed Final Exams for the college sophomore and Kyle, Nathan, and Cristina wanted to wait for him and make the trip together. Drew was also going to be late getting home from college due to circumstances beyond his control. His flight from Philadelphia yesterday had been delayed several times and then finally cancelled late last night. If today’s travels went well, the college junior would be joining them for dinner at the Union Oyster House this evening – the second part of the annual holiday excursion into Boston. 

Ali and Ashlyn understood those things. Those inevitable holiday travel and weather delays were never going to go away and the family was more than prepared to roll with the punches, as they always did. The two moms could almost get over Dodge and Lily bailing on them at the last minute too. The high school juniors were busy with their friends and activities and it was hard to force them to attend a family event that nobody else was going to be at. Ali, Ashlyn and the twins spent lots of time together as it was. They were not the four people who were missing each other that December. Both moms understood their youngest kids’ wanting to spend stress-free time with their girlfriend and boyfriend and other friends and they didn’t want to be sticks in the mud about it. Nobody wanted to spend time with sullen 16-year olds who didn’t want to be there in the first place. That was torture for all involved.

And Meg, sweet Meg, was going to try to catch the end of skating if she could, and she would definitely be there for dinner. The professional soccer player was enjoying her offseason and getting ready for her wedding next month. Several of her college friends and teammates who had stayed local after graduation were throwing her a modified bachelorette luncheon party that afternoon. Meg’s schedule that December was so full that she had to join some gatherings late and leave others early. Neither mom doubted for a second that they would see their eldest child at some point that evening and they took some comfort from the fact that at least one of their kids made an effort to join them. Meg wasn’t the problem.

No, it was Josie’s absence that hurt the most and they both felt it acutely. The dynamic redhead, a college freshman at Julliard in New York City, had aced her last Final of the semester on Monday that week, but still hadn’t made her way home yet. It would have been painful enough for Josie to wait until the last possible moment to come home for Christmas, but she had made it even worse by lying to her parents about it. 

“What do you mean her last exam was Monday?” Ali had asked her brother over the phone on Wednesday of that week, two days after Josie’s last final and two days before the Frog Pond and Union Oyster House holiday outing. “I thought it was tomorrow? That’s why she’s coming home with you guys” the brunette paused as her mind raced and her brow furrowed. Her mom radar twitched even more when she heard Kyle suck in a quick breath on the other end of the phone. “What’s going on?”

“Oh geez sis” he stalled. “I didn’t know she hadn’t told you...I don’t mean to rat her out...”

“Too late. Spill it” Ali commanded, her voice strained but forceful as she tried to control her rising anger and the growing ache in her chest.

The rest of Josie’s ‘story’ fell apart after Ali talked later that same afternoon to Sydney.

“Did you know Josie finished school on Monday but didn’t want us to know so she could avoid coming home until Saturday with Kyle?” the confused and embarrassed brunette asked into the phone.

“What? Whoa, whoa, whoa...” the coach tried to make sense of the run-on, rapid-fire sentence her best friend had just blurted into the phone. “Take a breath. Slow down Als.”

They were both quiet for a minute. They were just getting used to sharing intel on Josie again after the big brouhaha between she and James had finally moved into a friendly place again. It had taken almost two years for everything to get back to normal between the two younger best friends. Thankfully, Ali and Sydney had been able to mend their own fences much faster than that. Neither mom wanted to say it out loud, mostly because they didn’t want to scare the cooperative feeling away, but they were both glad to be having this kind of conversation again. It felt good to be able to talk about one of those two kids like they used to, without all the subtext and hurt feelings taking up all the space. 

“The dorms aren’t even open anymore” Ali’s voice was low and quiet and, her best friend knew, full of a mixture of sorrow and worry. “Do you know where she’s staying?”

“She’s at Sasha’s. They’re fine” the coach replied quickly, eager to allay Ali’s fears. “And she didn’t tell me she was keeping this from you guys. For the record, I had no idea.”

“Ok” Ali exhaled softly. “I’m just glad she told you. Kyle thought she was still in the dorm.”

There was another pause but the mood was lighter and relief was palpable on both ends of the phone.

“Al, listen...” Sydney tried to reassure the brunette. She knew Ali’s pride was hurt too. “She’s 18. It’s her freshman year. She and a couple of friends are hanging out in the big city pretending to be grown-ups for a couple of days...” she paused, hoping her honest and accurate rationale would be well received. “It’s not that big a deal.” 

“But she lied to us Al” Ashlyn’s face contorted in anger and disappointment later that night when the two parents finally had a chance to talk about the day’s discovery. “How are you not more upset about this?”

“I’ve had more time to process it I guess” Ali shrugged as they tidied up the house that night in anticipation of Marisol coming to clean it for them the next morning, as usual. “And, technically, she didn’t lie to us. She just didn’t tell us the truth...”

“Oh that’s bullshit and you know it” Ashlyn scowled as she carried an armful of random, already-worn clothing to the foot of the front stairs. 

They weren’t dirty clothes but they weren’t foldable clean clothes either – three different hoodies, several odd socks, a couple of hats, and a warm winter scarf made up this particular batch - so they stayed at the foot of the stairs where the twins would claim their share of it the next time they went up to or came down from the second floor. 

“It’s lying by omission” Ali sighed in agreement, even though she had talked herself out of the same feelings that afternoon. “Or just avoiding talking to us so she didn’t have to lie to us. I don’t know which is worse” she frowned again and felt spent as she stood in the middle of the front living room. She was tired of feeling all the emotions that had barraged her all afternoon and evening.

“It’s lying and I’m calling her right now...” the keeper began scrolling to Josie’s name in her phone as she rejoined her wife in the room full of Christmas decorations and candles in the windows.

“Ash, don’t” Ali stepped to her wife and gently put her hands around the blonde’s hands on her phone. “Please.”

“Why the hell not?” Ashlyn could not figure out why Ali wasn’t more upset about this. “Why am I the one who’s so pissed off about this, and not you?”

Ali dropped her eyes as her shoulders slumped just a bit. Ashlyn put her phone down on the coffee table next to them and studied the brunette’s pained face, slowly rubbing her hands up and down Ali’s arms as she did so.

“Talk to me sugarplum.”

“I just...” Ali began but choked on her words when she felt her emotions rise up again.

Ashlyn’s face softened instantly as she began to grasp what was going on with her beautiful brunette.

“Aw, sweetheart...” she pulled Ali into her chest and wrapped her arms around her tightly. She could feel the brunette clutch onto her and knew she was going to cry even before the tears started to fall. “It’s ok. You’re right” she pressed a kiss into Ali’s head and slowly swayed them back and forth in their hug.

“It’s not alright” the brunette whimpered. “Our daughter would rather lie to us about her final exam schedule and hide out at her friend’s house than come home for Christmas” she mumbled through soft tears. “It fucking sucks.”

“See, I knew it was a lie...” Ashlyn tried teasing to lighten the mood. 

“Seriously?” Ali gave her wife a withering, exasperated look before nuzzling back into the hug.

“Hey, would we have said no to her if she had been honest with us and told us she wanted to stay in New York for a few days with Sasha?”

“No. Probably not.”

“She’s 18...” the keeper began, but was cut off by Ali who pulled back so she could look into her favorite hazel eyes.

“And if she doesn’t want to be here then she shouldn’t be here...” 

“But that’s what hurts the most isn’t it?” Ashlyn nodded as she asked the question, knowing she was right.

“MmHmm” Ali sniffled and wiped the tears off of her cheek with one hand.

It had been a very emotional and challenging 5 months and they were both burnt out from dealing with Deb, and Lydia, and even Ashlyn’s own milestone anniversary that Fall. The twins had also just gotten their junior driver’s licenses a month ago, to add a different kind of stress to the equation. The last thing either mom needed was Christmas drama from feisty miss Josie. 

“Those damned kids” Ashlyn frowned and shook her head as she watched the love of her life try to gather herself. The keeper wiped the tears off of Ali’s other cheek and then cupped her chin and lifted her head until sad cinnamon eyes blinked back at her. “I hate when they hurt you like this. Nothing makes me more upset. I swear to God” her own eyes flashed with anger.

“They don’t mean to” Ali offered with a tiny smile. She would never get tired of how hard Ashlyn tried to protect her from any injuries, either physical or emotional. It had been a big job for the keeper that Fall but one Ashlyn welcomed - it was nice to have the shoe on the other foot for a change.

“I really thought Jojo was turning a corner with you...”

“Me too” Ali sighed again, but looked more like herself. “Maybe not yet, huh?”

The greatest anguish of Ashlyn’s life had been watching two of the people she loved more than life itself fight like cats and dogs. She had rarely felt more helpless than she had when Josie and Ali had fought their way through the redhead’s high school years. It had been ugly. Brutal. Gut-wrenching. Nobody alive could push Ali’s buttons better or faster than miss Josephine Marie Krieger could. For all of Ali’s measured words and her years of negotiating experience, she could not keep herself from engaging in the almost daily battles that their angsty teenager had instigated. Finally, this first semester with Josie away at college, the fragile peace that had been brokered between the two combatants seemed as if it might hold. Ashlyn was thankful because she wasn’t sure her nerves could take much more of the tumult. 

As Josie started to mature and adapt to all of her new freedoms at college, she lashed out less and less at the constraints she had felt at home. All three of them knew that it wasn’t only Ali who made or enforced the rules. Josie knew that her Mama was just as responsible for the numerous infringements on her teenage freedom as her Mom was. But it was Ali who received all the venom, every last drop of it. Ashlyn was left to try and keep what little peace she could. After an argument, the keeper would try to soothe her battle-bruised wife before going up to Josie’s room to try and reason with her too. It had been a very difficult few years, to say the least. And after almost 4 months of the cease-fire both moms thought and hoped that Josie had grown out of that phase of her young adulthood. Now this.

“Maybe not yet” Ashlyn grudgingly agreed with a tender kiss to her wife’s forehead. “But soon.”

Back on Frog Pond that Friday afternoon, two days later, tender hearts were trying to forget the parental pain and focus on the fun to be had on the ice.

“Oh she wants to race now?” Ali quirked her eyebrow at the keeper and then laughed loudly, throwing her head back and feeling the cold breeze sting her cheeks.

She knew Ashlyn was doing everything she could to keep her busy and entertained so she didn’t have time to dwell on any of the thoughts swirling around in her head and her heart. Ali felt her aching heart surge with love for her sweet keeper. She actually felt some of the hurt get washed away by the wave of love that had just swept through.

“I know you’re kinda sad and all, so I’m gonna feel bad about kicking your ass...” the blonde replied with her own cocky smirk.

“Oh I see” Ali laughed again, but there was a gleam in her eye – that competitive spark that could never be extinguished no matter how old she got or what the circumstances were regarding the challenge before her. “You sure your knee can take it?” she sassed back. “I don’t wanna have to carry you to dinner...”

“Oh it’s on” Ashlyn narrowed her eyes and gave her wife a steely look. They were both elated that the blonde’s knee was the only thing they were worried about – although neither of them was about to say the words out loud. Ashlyn dropped Ali’s hand and glided to a stop, adjusting the Boston Breakers winter hat on her head in preparation. “You just worry about your own limbs, lady.”

The two women, 55 and 54 years old and still in decent shape, took a minute to clarify the terms of the contest. Twice around the ice was the compromise they came to after Ali argued for three laps and Ashlyn pushed for one single-lap sprint. They would always be endurance field player and quick speed goalkeeper at heart. They were dressed as they commonly were, in comfortable yet stylish outfits. They both wore flannel-lined jeans, Ali’s black and Ashlyn’s dark blue, over long-underwear so they didn’t freeze to death during their afternoon outdoors. The zipper collar of Ashlyn’s dark green fleece and the top of her red turtleneck peeked out from the scarf she had wrapped around her neck and the warm puffy winter jacket she took a moment to zip all the way up. Her cheeks were almost as red as the turtleneck, but not quite. Ali’s own puffy winter jacket was only half-way zipped because she was never quite as cold as her keeper was. She had grown up in New England and was always going to be better able to handle the cold temperatures than her Southern-raised wife. The brunette had a fuchsia colored wool hat with long tassels hanging down on either side of her beautiful face, that matched her own fuchsia fleece and turtleneck. Fuchsia was still her favorite color and the fleece and hat and matching gloves had been a Christmas gift from Lily the year before. 

Ali’s playful barb about her wife’s knee was, as usual, rooted in reality. Ashlyn’s right knee had never been the same after it had been destroyed in the car accident that nearly killed both she and Drew all those years ago. The knee injury had ultimately been what ended her professional soccer career. She had undergone a couple of knee scopes over the years to clean out the messy joint and relieve some of the low-level but constant pain that she had learned to live with. The keeper knew she wouldn’t win any footraces anymore. It was one of the inevitable aspects of aging that both Ali and Ashlyn did their best to fend off by eating well and exercising and taking care of themselves. The brunette was starting to grapple with her own issues too. Nagging hip pain, sometimes rearing its ugly head in the most inopportune of private times, had made it obvious that she would eventually need to have a hip replacement. That was a few years away though. 

What Ali hadn’t factored into the chilly skating challenge that afternoon was how much easier skating on ice would be for her wife’s bad knee. The brunette was a much better skater than the native-Floridian would ever be, but Ashlyn’s athleticism and competitive nature made the race more challenging than it really had a right to be. Ali was stunned to have to turn on the afterburners halfway through the second and final lap, just to stay ahead of the blonde. Ashlyn gave it everything she had and almost caught her wife down the home stretch, coming up just short as she so often did when competing with the relentless brunette.

“Nice try Allstar” Ali panted out as they glided for another half lap, hands on their hips, cheeks flushed, and chests heaving. 

“Surprised you there, didn’t I?” the keeper grinned from ear to ear, dimple on full display, as she jumped to a hockey stop, spraying her wife with shaved ice where she stood along the boards.

“Nothing you do ever surprises me, babe” Ali opened her arms and received the blonde’s hug with her own enormous smile. “But yeah, your knee works pretty good on ice” they both laughed.

Ashlyn squeezed her wife and pressed a chilly kiss into her cheek as they tried to catch their breath. The other skaters moved past them at varying speeds while the nearby speaker filled the air with Christmas music. Ali hummed softly and leaned into the keeper’s lips, enjoying the contact as always.

“I love you, even though you beat me” Ashlyn mumbled against the brunette’s skin and then kissed her again.

Ali chuckled and turned her head, meeting her wife’s lips with her own.

“Love you too” Ali said sweetly as they pulled their heads back and smiled at each other. “Slowpoke.”

After changing out of their skates they walked, arm in arm, to the Union Oyster House restaurant a few blocks away. They were early but were planning to warm up with liquor drinks in front of the fire in the lounge before their 5pm dinner reservation. The hour passed quickly, a little too quickly for their liking, as they sat close together, talking softly. Ali’s phone chirped and she smiled as she read the text message that had just come in.

“Drew landed” her grin grew as she spoke. “He wants to know if we’re still doing dinner.”

“I’m sending a car for him now” Ashlyn typed quickly into her own phone, ordering an airport pickup from the car service Knight-Harris had used faithfully for so many years. “Tell him it’ll be there in 15.”

They were quiet for a few minutes after finishing with their texts, both smiling brightly at the good news. Ashlyn put her arm around Ali’s shoulder and the brunette leaned into her wife with a contented sigh.

“Can I tell you a secret?” the brunette blinked up at her wife, asking with a twinkle in her eye.

“Dirty truth?” Ashlyn gave her a playful quirk of her eyebrow.

“Always” Ali chuckled quietly and reached up to hold onto the blonde’s hand that was draped around her shoulder. 

Ashlyn’s dimple appeared as she waited patiently for her wife to speak, squeezing her hand and enjoying the squeeze she got back in return. 

“It’s probably not that big a secret, really” Ali began. “You’ve had me figured out for a while now” she grinned as she gazed into her favorite hazel eyes. The brunette felt her emotions rise up and her voice got more serious as she continued. “This Christmas hasn’t been easy for me...with mom...” she got choked up and dropped her eyes as she tried not to cry.

“I know baby” Ashlyn nodded solemnly. “It’s ok” she leaned forward and gave Ali’s head a soft kiss.

A small smile graced the brunette’s face when she felt the contact. As had happened so often in the past, the gentle touch calmed Ali’s racing heart and helped clear her mind at the same time.

“I was doing ok, well... pretty ok” she paused and corrected her self-assessment, “and then this thing with Josie” she rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. The eyeroll was aimed at her own inability to rise above the hurt she often felt from her daughter, and the sigh was mostly sadness. “And with everybody else’s travel plans messing today up, I really was feeling pretty low.”

“Me too honey, me too” Ashlyn admitted with kind, concerned eyes.

“And then we got here and, I don’t know” Ali shrugged as her face brightened. “Being here with you, just the two of us, it felt...just right. I can’t explain it.”

“You don’t have to Al. I feel it too” the keeper replied in her soft, high voice and leaned in to kiss her wife’s lips.

“It’s nice, right?” Ali giggled a bit, after the brief kiss.

“Hell yes it’s nice” Ashlyn enthused. “It’s better than nice. Who needs the kids anyway?” they both laughed and beamed at each other. “So what’s the secret?”

“Just now, when we found out Drew was on his way here to dinner” Ali paused again, not quite believing she was going to say the words out loud, “I was so excited to have him here, so glad that he was making the extra effort to come join us for dinner...”

“Ummm, it’s not that much of an effort hon” Ashlyn interrupted, chuckling. “We’re sending him a car to bring him here and we’re feeding him delicious food and then taking him home with us...”

“Oh I know, just hush now” Ali shook her head and giggled. She took a deep breath and looked into her wife’s eyes again as she finally revealed her secret. “Right after I got excited, I felt sad that our special time wasn’t going to be just us anymore” she admitted and dropped her eyes again, feeling a little embarrassed and guilty. “Isn’t that terrible?” she whispered, still not able to look at Ashlyn.

“Oh baby, it’s not terrible at all” Ashlyn pulled the brunette into her and gave her a big hug, kissing her forehead this time as Ali looked up at big, adoring hazel eyes again.

“It is, it’s terrible” Ali giggled, voice still just above a whisper.

“It’s not” Ashlyn laughed quietly as they returned to their previous position, suddenly aware of the other people with them in the fireplace lounge of the restaurant. “I swear baby, it’s not.”

“Well, it’s the truth” Ali shrugged again, happy and relieved to see in her wife’s face that Ashlyn wasn’t just trying to make her feel better about it. The keeper actually agreed with her. Ali didn’t mind being a shitty parent as long as she wasn’t the only one doing it. “Don’t you dare say anything...”

“I would never” Ashlyn made a pretend serious face and then winked.

“Yes you most certainly would” Ali chuckled and gave her wife a warning look. “But please don’t. I’m not ready to laugh it off today. Please?” she beseeched.

“I’ve got you sugarplum” Ashlyn blinked sweetly at her slightly concerned wife. “I promise. No matter what. I’ve got you.”

Ashlyn’s phone dinged, interrupting them.

“Meg’s on her way too” she smiled at Ali and began texting the redhead back.

Ali watched the love of her life struggle to text and hold her phone one-handed because she wouldn’t let the brunette’s hand go. That simple gesture, that simple refusal to release her hand, was just the kind of thing that had helped Ali navigate the challenging Fall and now Winter. She knew without the shadow of a doubt that Ashlyn would be there for her no matter what, no matter how big or small the situation was. It was powerful knowledge and it had given the brunette more strength during the past 5 months, hell, the last 21 months, than she thought she would ever need. Ali hoped with her entire heart that Ashlyn felt the same strength from the same knowledge that she would always be there for her keeper too. 

And when it was all said and done, when the kids were all grown and out of the house and on their own in a few more years, this was what their life together was going to be. It was going to be just the two of them again. That thought had always frightened Ali as the kids grew up. She knew that most of the fear was about the kids and how she would have to learn to let them go and to let them make their own mistakes and live their own lives. But as more time went by, Ali was realizing that part of that fear was about what it might be like when the kids really were all grown up and gone. What would it be like – just the two of them again? Slight doubts had started to make their way into Ali’s overworked brain – would Ashlyn be bored with her now? – would they have anything to talk about without daily kid things going on in their lives? – would they still be able to spend time together, just the two of them, without it feeling empty or lacking in some way because the kids weren’t there? Ali hadn’t told anybody about these fears because she had barely allowed herself to think about them. But every now and then they crept into her brain and freaked her out a little bit.

“She’s taking a cab” Ashlyn’s voice shook Ali’s thoughts. “Wants to know if she can come home with us tonight” the keeper’s smile got even bigger as she texted back a resounding yes without even having to ask her wife.

This afternoon at Frog Pond had started off sadly but turned into one of the most meaningful days of Ali’s life. She had gotten the answers to those questions. She had been reminded of what time alone with Ashlyn was like, how amazing it was, and, more importantly, how much she was looking forward to more and more of it. Ashlyn was still her favorite person to talk to and to laugh with and to be quiet with. Ashlyn still made everything better. No matter what it was Ali was doing, working, relaxing, exercising, eating, sleeping, watching tv, anything... It was always better with Ashlyn. She had felt it today, as soon as she let herself stop being sad about the kids not being there. As soon as Ali let herself just be present in the day, she got all the answer she would ever need. 

Ashlyn was her heart, her life, her whole damned world and always had been. The gift of being reminded of that simple but earthshaking fact was the Christmas miracle Ali needed this year. She felt her heart flutter when Ashlyn put her phone away and returned her loving gaze with an adorable and inquisitive tilt of her head.

“What?” the keeper asked, sweetly.

“Nothing” Ali’s cheeks hurt from smiling so broadly at her wife for so many minutes but she couldn’t stop grinning if she tried. “I just love you, so much.”

“Aw, I love you too baby” Ashlyn cooed as they shared another chaste kiss. “Merry day before Christmas Eve. Thank you for spending it with me.”

“Always” Ali leaned into her wife again and hugged her. “Forever.”


End file.
